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Dean Kloppenberg Honored for Impact on Life in Dayton

Dean Lisa Kloppenberg was honored as one of the Top Ten Women in the Miami Valley during a luncheon sponsored by the Dayton Daily News on December 1. The newspaper's Top Ten Women were honored for making a significant impact on life in the Miami Valley.

In her brief remarks at the luncheon, Kloppenberg praised Dayton Law"s students for their hard work and dedication to service. The school"s students, she said, give her "hope for the future of the legal profession and the strength of our communities."

"All law students work incredibly hard," Kloppenberg said. "They take a heavy academic load and we push them to incredible lengths. Many students have families or long commutes or part-time jobs in addition to their full-time academic work.

"Despite this daunting load, so many of our students make time during their studies to serve others. In the Marianist tradition, more than 30 percent of the students who graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law School in 2010 earned Pro Bono Commitment to Community Awards. They devoted more than 8,000 hours to legal and charitable work in the greater Dayton region and around the country. The Class of 2011 is on track to devote even more hours to their communities. Our students know that their lives won"t be truly meaningful unless they use their great gifts to better our world."

As dean, Kloppenberg championed curricular reform, bringing national recognition for the way the school rethought legal education.

During her tenure, Kloppenberg also led successful efforts to diversify the faculty; re-ignite a greater spirit of service in students, who are performing pro bono hours in record numbers; and boost job placement rates. She is one of just 40 female law school deans, according to the Association of American Law Schools. When appointed, she was one of the youngest deans in the country and the first female to lead an Ohio law school.

Kloppenberg also oversaw the development of the first accelerated five-semester law degree in the nation in 2005.

In 2007, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching invited the University of Dayton and just a handful of other universities " including Harvard, Stanford and Georgetown " to examine how American law schools prepare lawyers and make reform recommendations.